Gandahar

Well, I have to admit that I hunted this particular movie for 10 years. I've seen it for the first time when I was in my early teens (12 or 13, not sure), and I was really impressed by the animation and the plot. Besides, I didn't have a chance to see a lot of sci-fi movies (let alone animated movies) back then.

Now, that I've been able to see it again, I find it really outdated (or "old-skul") - pretty much, it felt like Kubrick's "Space Odissey" animated, only that "Gandahar" came out in late 80es, when "Akira" set a new industry standard. The plot is more or less predictable, the sci-fi backgrounds looked like something from mid-70es, and the battle scenes are even worse than those of cheap Japanimation TV series.

Despite all the bad things above, this movie got a touch of a master. First, I have to admit that movement animation feels highly original (I can't think of anything similar) and is done with a lot of skill. Second, the voices (in French) are much better than anything I've heard. Finally, I find character design very good.

To sum up, I don't think that this is quite the right movie to see "just for fun", but for those who are interested in animation it is definitely a must.

This film was one of the first science fiction cartoons I had seen. Perhaps that is the reason for my high praise of the film. I was engrossed from the very beginning. The dialouge was masterful. What the animation lacked, the combination of the writing and my imagination more than made up for. This film has a PG rating for brief nudity, but I think that children ages 10 on will be very pleased. It treats the audience not as a child or an adult. If you are a fan of hardcore science fiction then this film is for you. If you have never seen a single sci-fi film before, then this is the perfect blend of action and thought provoking images to introduce you to the genre. I will not get into details about the story. You can read the synopsis. In short, I highly recommend this film.

'Light Years' is a work of sci-fi animation that really stands apart from the pack. In order to enjoy this film, one must have an appreciation of science fiction altogether. For those individuals such as Leonard Maltin, whom dismissed this movie as a pretentious 'talky' cartoon, you must understand that 'Light Years' tells a very human story about irresponsible inventions and ignorance in a completely ALIEN setting; this is the true magic of the film! I thought the dialogue was creative and the story was fascinating. The creatures and characters are beyond description, and the ending will blow you away. True sci-fi fans I think should dismiss Leonard Maltin's review and rent this one!

GANDAHAR is an imaginative little science fiction feature from Rene Laloux, who directed the acclaimed FANTASTIC PLANET. I haven't seen that one but I did enjoy this one; I saw the version showing on Prime which had been dubbed into English with the voices of Christopher Plummer, Glenn Close et al. Intriguingly, the animation (which I like a lot) was handled by a North Korean studio. The story gathers together many familiar themes from 20th century science fiction including time travel, eugenics and technology, weaving them into a satisfying story involving rebel characters battling against a merciless robot army. Put it this way, it has far more heart, soul and insight than any film in the STAR WARS franchise made since the original trilogy.

about time and utopic realities. The animation is wonderful and detailed. Everything serves perfectly the telling of the story. And the hand of Asimov is not only in the novel, but also in the adaptation to the screen, so that is faithful to his representation of life. Worth watching a few times.